Engineering representation in multilevel democracies: The Belgian case illustrating reflections on bicameral systems

Jakob Frateur; Petra Meier; Peter Bursens

doi:10.24965/gapp.11487

Authors

Jakob Frateur University of Antwerp. Faculty of Law (Bélgica – Belgium)
Petra Meier University of Antwerp. Department of Political Science (Bélgica – Belgium)
Peter Bursens University of Antwerp. Departement of Political Science (Bélgica – Belgium)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24965/gapp.11487

Keywords:

federalism, unicameralism, bicameralism, political representation, Belgium

Abstract

Objectives: In federal systems both the people as a whole (demos) and the statespeople (demoi) need to be represented, be it in a unicameral or bicameral set-up. In Belgium, this is increasingly debated, to the extent that the abolition of the second chamber is on the political agenda. What are the theoretical and empirical alternatives to organize representation in federal systems, and to what extent can they be applied to the Belgian federation? While literature on federal systems and most federations search for a more optimal representation of the demoi, Belgium is confronted with the opposite challenge: how to guarantee the representation of the demos in a set-up that favours representation of the demoi. Methodology: This is a theoretical and reflective text based on federalism theory and insights from, among others, EU studies. Results: In this article we argue that the solution to balance this representation can be both unicameral and bicameral. The crux in either is a change in the election of the parliamentarians representing the demos. This could be achieved by electing a part of the Chamber of Representatives through a nationwide, federal circumscription. Conclusions: The main take-away is the need to pay more attention to the representation of the demos at the federal level, especially in multi-level governance systems characterized by devolving tendencies.

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Author Biographies

Jakob Frateur, University of Antwerp. Faculty of Law (Bélgica – Belgium)

Jakob Frateur is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Law and at the Department of Political Science (Faculty of Social Sciences) at the University of Antwerp. His research focuses on citizens’ political trust in multilevel systems in times of crisis with emphasis on (modes of) multilevel governance and institutional structures.

Petra Meier, University of Antwerp. Department of Political Science (Bélgica – Belgium)

Petra Meier is professor in Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Antwerp. Her research focuses on the representation of gender and other social markers, with an emphasis on the reproduction of inequality through political systems, politics and policies. For an overview of her publications please see: https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/staff/petra-meier/publications/

Peter Bursens, University of Antwerp. Departement of Political Science (Bélgica – Belgium)

Peter Bursens is professor in Political Science at the Faculty of Social Science of the University of Antwerp, member of the Politics and Public Governance research group, the GOVTRUST Centre of Excellence and chair of the Jean Monnet Centre STRATEGO. His research focuses on democratic legitimacy of multilevel political systems, federalism and EU-politics (see https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/staff/peter-bursens/publications/).

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